The Herman Hipp Papers document Hipp's activities as a business executive and civic leader. The bulk of this collection covers the years from 1950 to 1982. The collection is arranged in series as follows:

1. The Broadcasting Company of the South 1957-1964

2. Cosmos Broadcasting Corporation 1965-1982

3. Liberty Life Insurance Company 1943-1982

4. Selico Incorporated 1965-1968

5. The Southeastern Life Insurance Company 1964-1968

6. The Surety Life Insurance Company 1956-1961

7. Surety Investment Company 1963-1968

8. Premium Acceptance Corporation 1965-1968

9. The Surety Indemnity Company 1963-1965

10. The Surety Insurance Company 1963-1965

11. Surety Realty Corporation 1964-1967

12. Special Services Corporation 1958-1970

13. Life Insurance Agency Management Association 1950-1982

14. The Liberty Corporation 1968-1982

15. Atlas Life Insurance Company 1979-1982

16. Greater Arizona Savings and Loan Association 1973-1982

17. Liberty Investors Benefit Insurance Company 1967-1971

18. United Fidelity Life Insurance Company 1978-1982

19. Personal Series 1938-1985

20. Tres and Company 1958-1973

Herman Hipp's first love as an executive was Liberty Life Insurance Company. The sheer size of the Liberty Life series reflects its importance to this collection. To insiders at Liberty Life Hipp was known as "Mr. Sales Manager." From 1943 until 1968 his primary responsibility was directing the increasingly complex sales operations of the company. This series records the dramatic growth of Liberty Life and reveals Herman Hipp's executive traits of persistence and attention to detail.

After Hipp's elevation to the presidency of Liberty life in 1969 and subsequently as a top echelon executive of The Liberty Corporation, his files become more general and policy-oriented. As a board member of the various subsidiary companies of Liberty Life and The Liberty Corporation, e.g., Cosmos Broadcasting and United Fidelity Life Insurance Company, this policy orientation is particularly apparent.

The five different Surety Series present a potentially confusing situation to the researcher, as the word "Surety" was used as a catch-all to name Hipp family controlled satellite companies. Doyle Boggs' The Liberty Spirit: History of The Liberty Corporation (1986) deals with the origins of Surety (see especially p. 41). A separate reference file entitled "Surety" exists in The Liberty Corporation Archives.

The relatively large Personal Series details Herman Hipp's private life. As an ardent alumnus of Furman University, Hipp contributed both his time and resources to Furman's Growth. The Furman files in this series provide an inside glimpse of fund raising and long-range planning at the Greenville school. The Personal Series also documents Herman Hipp's involvement with the Greenville Chamber of Commerce and the Greenville Hospital System. The general correspondence files in this series project Hipp's courtesy and thoughtfulness.

Because Herman Hipp did not totally segment his business and personal activities, there exists some overlapping in the collection. Specifically, Hipp's correspondence with insurance executives from competing companies is chiefly personal in nature and is therefore located in the Personal Series.

Finally, the researcher should realize that a gap exists in the collection from the years 1974 to 1979. These files could have been destroyed or they may yet be recovered in the future. If found they will likely be treated as a separate sub-record group.